Successful Life Story Transformations (ePub)

The Art and Science of Change, Reinvention, and Success

When people construct their personal narratives, important elements often remain invisible, along with beliefs that ghostwrite behaviors. Unlike other narratives, a personal narrative is not announced directly. The narrator may not recognize the real the story he or she is living and can even believe it's different from the story others perceive.

The case studies included here illustrate a method for identifying personal stories and bringing about systematic change. Basic to this method is the personal requirement to have a new story to be in before the old story can be given up. The vignettes illustrate both change from compromising past storylines and reinvention of present successful stories. The principles and strategies of actively authoring change bring new dimensions of personal, career, relationship, and financial success.

Many prescriptions for change ignite discomfort with the old story or even resolve an old story as a way of coming to the end of the past, yet they fail to offer ways to develop a successful new story. Insights, understanding, even coming to the end of the past and ending an old story are not enough to create a new story. The process of change itself must be addressed in an informed and systematic way.

The approach illustrated here integrates the dynamic insights of psychology and neuroscience with the principles of strategic coaching to generate a new story. The new story calls for generating new experiences coupled with awakening hope, envisioning the future, and mobilizing talents and strengths to attain certain goals of personal and business growth.

Beliefs drive behavior. Behavior drives performance. Changing your mind changes your brain and your life.

The ROADMAP process systematically informs active listening and understanding of the participant's own story. Beyond that, it provides structure and strategies to guide the evolution of a participant's unique voice as he or she writes and revises a new story.

The ROADMAP(acronym for the seven steps in the creation of a new story) is a structured process by which participants deconstruct an old story and systematically construct a new or revised one. No matter whether the story has to do with life, money, relationships, career, wellness, or business, this structured process serves as a guide to transformation.

We employ the following seven steps of the ROADMAP program as an effective means to clients' significant life change:

Recognize the authorship of your life story

Own your present story

Assess the storylines and plot

Decide what to keep, enhance, let go, and avoid

Map changes

Author new experiences

Program new identity to incorporate and sustain the changes

These vignettes and case studies illuminate the hidden agendas, beliefs, habits, and assumptions that ghostwrite limiting stories, along with the insight and mutual work that generated a new story of hard work miracles.